OCTOBER RAGE are a band originating from New South Wales in Australia. Brothers Nick and William Roberts were the driving force behind the band and they released their first single “Silver Line” in 2009, followed by the album “Outrage” and most recently the single “White Walkers”. The band has been touring extensively in the USA this year.
The band features Nick Roberts on vocals and guitar, William Roberts on bass, Alan Toka on drums and Josh Gilbert on guitar. Nick kindly agreed to answer a few questions for Rock Radio NI.
NI ROCKS – Guys, thanks for taking a few minutes to answer some questions for Rock Radio NI. It’s likely that a lot of people in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK won’t have heard of October Rage yet. We’ll be hoping that changes over the next year. The band started out in New South Wales in 2008.Tell us a little bit about the creation of the band and what kind of sound you wanted to achieve.
OCTOBER RAGE – No problem at all, awesome to meet you guys. We started off in our hometown of the Central Coast in October 2008. My brother Will and I had begun the project with the intent of making it something huge from the start, but knew it was going to be a rather difficult journey, haha.
NI ROCKS – You went from being a relatively unknown band even in Australia to being the opening band for Bon Jovi in Sydney, playing to over 50,000 people. How did that come about and what opportunities did it open up?
OCTOBER RAGE – We heard a radio ad on the way home from Sydney one day asking for bands to apply for this competition to be Bon Jovi's support band for Sydney. We knew it was a huge deal so we entered and luckily won over a huge amount of bands. The entire experience was amazing and opened up all sorts of doors for us, including our current USA tour.
NI ROCKS – Your first album “Outrage” was recorded and released in 2011. How wide a release did the album get? I notice that Amazon in the UK offers the MP3 version only.
OCTOBER RAGE – Being our first album we initially released it in Australia only, until it went Global on iTunes etc. However as we have been touring the USA it was been getting lots more attention with lots of people asking about album no. 2, haha.
NI ROCKS – We received the album at Rock Radio NI only this October when Head First Entertainment sent through the download link. Normally I’ll only download submissions after checking out some tracks on YouTube, Reverbnation or something. After one listen to the video for “Set You Free” I have to say I was an instant fan. (Check out the album recommendation at http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/back-stage/music-reviews/1117-ni-rocks-recommends-october-rage-outrage.html) .
What had you hoped to achieve with “Outrage” when you headed into the studio and was it everything that you hoped?
OCTOBER RAGE – It was definitely everything I was hoping for and more! Our producer, Adrian Hannan, was fantastic to work with and made the entire process extremely enjoyable. The final result was amazing and it's definitely going to be a huge highlight in my career and in my life.
NI ROCKS – You seem to have spent the last six months or so touring in the USA supporting Steel Panther, Sevendust and Saliva. How crucial is it for a rock band to break into the US market to achieve real success? And was there a conscious decision to focus on the USA before tackling the European market?
OCTOBER RAGE – Yes, for many reasons, first of which being that we already had a fanbase here in the USA, and it is also a lot cheaper to fly to. Many of our network (e.g agency etc) is also based in America, but we definitely have plans to go to Europe as soon as we can.
NI ROCKS – There must have been some ups and downs along the way over the past six months. What have been your personal highs and lows of being on the road?
OCTOBER RAGE – A roller coaster is a perfect way to describe it! There's definitely been enough to keep it interesting. There's been lineup changes, long, dangerous drives and plenty of drama, but we have also played with some of the best bands in America, seen so much of the country and met so many awesome people it's made the whole thing worth every second.
NI ROCKS – And what’s the best rock ‘n’ roll story you can tell?
OCTOBER RAGE- My worst rock n roll moment was when I woke up on the roof of a building one morning. Our hotel was across the street... But I think I did it all on purpose... I think...
NI ROCKS – Your most recent release, the single “White Walkers” is inspired by the Game of Thrones books / TV series. Would you ever consider doing a whole themed or story telling album?
OCTOBER RAGE – I love the idea of concept albums, some of my favourite records are actually done that way. They take a longer time to write though I would imagine but I wouldn't put it past October Rage to have one released in the future.
NI ROCKS – When can we expect October Rage to be hitting Europe, and specifically the UK and Ireland? And will “Outrage” be getting promoted again prior to that?
OCTOBER RAGE – I can't wait to hit up Europe, my family have both Irish and Scottish decent but I've heard you guys can really drink, so we will definitely have to bring the Australian competition!
NI ROCKS – I always like to get an idea of what music bands are listening too. When you’re in your van on tour what music do you have playing on the stereo? And if I was to check out you own personal iPods or MP3 players what would I find?
OCTOBER RAGE – We have a rule on tour that if Led Zeppelin is on the radio, it gets turned up to eleven. Having said that, oldies like Black Sabbath, Guns N Roses and Queen never go astray.
NI ROCKS – Again guys, thanks for taking some time to answer these questions for Rock Radio NI. We wish you all the best of luck and hope that we’ll get to see you over in Europe sometime in the near future.
You can find out more about October Rage on their website www.octoberrage.com
or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/octoberrage